Richard Bell (b. 1953), an artist of Gamilaraay (Kamilaroi) and Anglo-Celtic heritage, has described himself as an 'inactivist who kicked the habit'. Self-taught, Bell exhibited in the first of many group and solo shows at the beginning of the 1990s. Often incorporating text, alluding to contemporary American and Australian art as well as Indigenous iconography, his works are aggressively propagandist, wantonly offensive, witty and often funny. Delusional grandeur (2002) reads, in part:
'"I wasn'tthereitwasn'tmeididn'tdoitwhatcanidoIAMNOTSORRY" ' Bell won the 2003 Telstra NATSIA award for his Scientia E Metaphysica (Bell's Theorem), featuring a phrase on which he has often riffed, 'Aboriginal Art: It's a White Thing'. On that occasion the artist courted, and won, controversy by wearing a t-shirt disparaging the sexual performance of Anglo-Saxon women. His video productions include uz vs them 2006 and Broken English 2009. Included in Australian Perspecta (1993) and (prominently) in Culture Warriors (2008), the self-proclaimed 'gangsta rapper of Australian art' is represented in the National Gallery of Australia and several state galleries.
Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the artist 2011
Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program
Mike Chavez (1 portrait)
On one level The Companion talks about the most famous and frontline Australians, but on another it tells us about ourselves: who we read, who we watch, who we listen to, who we cheer for, who we aspire to be, and who we'll never forget. The Companion is available to buy online and in the Portrait Gallery Store.
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